We get it. Deron Williams is frustrated that after two regular season games, his teammates do not yet know the offense that he’s been comfortably running for years now. As a fan interested in the team’s success, I do not want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. But Deron’s bullet pass and public berating of rookie Gordon Hayward needs to be discussed, because it was completely uncalled for and has the potential for getting out of hand quickly unless D-Will nips himself in the proverbial bud. As the leader of the team, Williams has the responsibility to instill confidence in his teammates by how he teaches them to improve their game. As most of us with professional work experience know, one of the most ineffective ways to make a point with an eye toward improving performance is to publicly undress a colleage. It’s bad form. It almost always backfires. Most importantly, though, it diminishes the willingness to follow of those being led–a crucial element for every successful leader.

I sincerely hope Deron patches things up with this kid or that tension can quickly stretch until it’s so taut that even a wayward glance can snap it. I’ve seen it happen many times before. If it really is just a process of learning the offense, if there really is no cause for alarm after two games, then D-Will better act like it. Problem is, he’s not. Williams’ response to a slow start of two games seems to be an overreaction to the situation, if that’s really all that’s going on. As the Tribune is reporting, just a day after he asserted that to be the case, this is quickly becoming a bigger deal, which makes me wonder what’s really going on.

Anyway, Deron’s leadership must start with acting like a teammate and not an enemy. How many times last night could D-Will have rocketed the ball at Al Jefferson because he didn’t pop the ball back out of the post, or make the right read on a defense? Last I checked, Williams hasn’t been performing at his level best, either. I feel bad for Hayward. He was one of the only Jazz players playing with all-out hustle last night. Nevermind that Hayward finished the give and go play by making the basket. And yet he bore the brunt of D-Will’s ire, which was severely misplaced. Kiss and make up, boys. Otherwise, the wire you’re walking will only get higher. And if we think this is ugly, wait until it really snaps. Let’s all hope D-Will takes a breather on this one, which I’m confident he will. Oh, and Gordon? Next time, make that cut.

Deron Williams is typically a pretty level headed guy. It’s one of his greatest strengths as a basketball player. He seems to be able to control his competitive rage and dole it out appropriately when he needs to. So last night when Williams dressed down Gordon Hayward on national TV, was I surprised? Yes. Was I angry? Nope.

I love Hayward. I’m glad he’s our guy. He’s a heady basketball player, he’s smart, and he’s talented with the ball. But I trust Deron. He’s the sole team captain for a reason. Yes, the Hayward confrontation was ugly and it seemed mean spirited, but you know what? Sometimes people need a wake up call. If Deron went after him, he did it for a good reason. To me it seemed like a message to Hayward and the rest of the team. I don’t know why he picked Gordon as the delivery method… maybe because he knew he would A) accept it, B) learn from it, and C) could take it like a man, but this was a message to the team… This was the “PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER!” moment.

You know who thought the confrontation was a big deal? Media members on the sidelines, bloggers, and fans. You know who didn’t? Jerry Sloan, Reggie Miller, Deron Williams, and anyone that has ever played a professional sport. So, sorry Gordon. That sucks that you’re the whipping boy… but you know what? Welcome to the NBA. This isn’t kid stuff. This isn’t a job at your dad’s law firm where your “boss” pulls you aside and tells you you’re doing a bang-up job. This is professional basketball. The game is bigger, faster, and stronger than you are. Millions of dollars, jobs, and fan’s hopes are living and dying by your success. If you can’t handle a vet giving you a public shout, then get a job elsewhere. This is where the big boys come to play. People are going to get frustrated, and you’re going to get yelled at from time to time. Deal with it.

Hayward knows this. He can take it and he’s gonna be good. Deron knows it too. Let the captain lead his team.

In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

Overview

No Mark, you can't play in the games.

The Mavericks are a head-scratching bunch. 50 plus wins in each of the past ten seasons, and a first round exit in three of the past four, despite being perennial favorites to advance deep into the playoffs after their NBA Finals appearance against the Miami Heat in 2006. Mad Hatter Mark Cuban spares no expense to assemble the most talented roster he can buy, but the Mavs have suffered some chemistry problems, it seems, despite having done so. This is Dirk Nowitzki’s team, and he carries the burden of their success, whomever else the team surrounds him with. With offseason acquisitions, nearly half of the team is new. Dallas has only a couple of seasons left with the current core to make a march on the Lakers and return to the Finals. Can they do it? They have the talent. Will they? If the Jazz don’t do it, I’m rooting for these guys.

Nowitzki may be one of Millsap’s toughest challenges this season. The way he spreads the floor by shooting from anywhere on the court spells trouble for Millsap, who’s much more comfortable in the post. Expect Nowitzki to have the edge in these matchups.

Jason Kidd vs. Deron Williams

Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards to ever play the game. He is top five all-time in assists. At age 37, having developed an outside shooting threat over his career, he shows no signs of slowing down. Old Guard vs. New Guard, these two seem to have parallel skills and dominance on the court.

Caron Butler and Andrei Kirilenko are evenly matched, as are Brendan Haywood and Al Jefferson. Nevermind the backup center, Tyson Chandler, may be the best #2 center in the NBA.

High Notes | Low Notes

The Mavericks are healthy thus far, which seems to be a good sign. Nearly half the team is new, which normally would be cause for concern. But such is the case with the Jazz, so, if the Mavericks can make it work, more power to them. The primary question that goes unanswered is this: Why does Dallas keep losing in the playoffs with all the talent Cuban has brought to the team?

History

The Mavericks and Jazz have only met twice in the post season, with Dallas sending Utah packing in the first round in 1986 and 2001.

Coach Notes

Head Coach Rick Carlisle had a scare this preseason with a training camp fainting spell. But this 2002 NBA Coach of the Year (with the Pistons) is back in the saddle and ready to go. He’s got an ability to relate to players (himself a former Celtic from the 1986 championship team) and he dials in his player strengths well.

Outlook

Ich werde diesen Ball in die Menge gestellt! (Photo: nba.com)

Utah plays Dallas twice in eight days in early December, followed by a late February road game and a late March home game.

Expect the Mavericks to always be in the mix as long as veterans Nowitzki and Kidd are leading the charge. Few will be surprised at a Lakers – Mavericks Western Conference Finals showdown come springtime. Then again, few will be surprised if the Mavs follow their recent pattern of bowing out to lesser talent in the first round. Which Dallas team will the NBA get this season? I’m expecting the former.

In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

Overview

The Original Young Guns, who were also not to be underestimated.

This will mark the third season in Oklahoma for the team formerly known as Prince. Wait. Formerly known as the Seattle Sonics. (I know. Especially with Sonics and Kevin Durant uber-fan Paul Brogan unleashing YouTube classics like this, I was sad to see them bolt the Great Northwest, too.) Two years ago, the Thunder won 23 games. Last year they won 50. So, is the 2010-2011 version of the Oklahoma City Thunder another slick piece of marketing propaganda from David Stern and company at the league PR office? Or is this upstart team filled with a roster of ten players age 24 or younger about to assert themselves as a perennial Western Conference power? What should you believe?

Believe that the darling of the 2010 playoffs who took the Lakers to six tough games in the first round is not a flash in the pan. Believe that if they can avoid the sophomore slump, their 27-game turnaround from the previous season will grow this season. Believe that last year’s league scoring champion and all-around phenom, Kevin Durant, could be named the MVP of the league this spring. Believe that whatever happens, Durant will lead his Young Guns out of the first round at least, if not further, in the 2011 playoffs. Believe this: OKC is for real. Let’s talk about why.

Key Matchups

Allow me to introduce OKC’s starting five: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeff Green, and Nenad Krstic. Key names coming off the bench include: Nick Collison, James Harden, Daequan Cook, Serge Ibaka, and Eric Maynor. What’s the quick takeaway for you here? A strong, young starting five and a reserve unit that is among the deepest in the league.

Kevin Durant vs. The World

One way to stop KD...the Flying Dolphin. (Photo: bleacherreport.com)

Durant’s soft-spoken demeanor betrays his on-court leadership. He was the unequivocal leader of Team USA’s gold medal run this summer at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Lest you forget, OKC point guard and rising NBA star Russell Westbrook was at his side for the entire run, which only enhances the growing on-court chemistry for the pair this season. (More on Westbrook in a moment.) Durant’s game is deceptively effortless, and NBA writer Scoop Jackson has compared his play to that of George “Iceman” Gervin, who made his every move look as easy as water rolling downhill. The best Utah can hope for is to stifle Durant when he penetrates the lane, force him to kick the ball out a little more than he normally would, and hope the post game stat sheet shows 22 points instead of 32.

D-Will vs. Russell Westbrook

Why should you pay attention to Russell Westbrook? Westbrook has quietly become one of the best point guards in the Western Conference. For a guy many expected to be nothing more than a role player, this is quite an accomplishment. He will have his hands full with D-Will, who is bigger, but Westbrook will be scrappy to be sure.

Paul Millsap vs. Jeff Green

This may be the matchup to watch. Jeff Green is the Thunder’s rebounding machine, and if he can make strides in that area this year, he will be the difference maker for many OKC wins. Remember, the Thunder ultimately lost game 6 against the Lakers on a missed defensive rebound that Pau Gasol scooped into the hoop after Kobe’s missed baseline jumper. Rebounding will, consequently, be a continuing mantra for the Thunder and Green is the heart of that effort. He and Millsap will be nicely matched, as both are underrated scorers as well.

Thabo Sefolosha/James Harden vs. Raja Bell/C.J. Miles

Thabo will start against Raja. Both are able scorers and tough defenders. But watch James Harden off the bench, the former 3rd overall pick whose game is really improving after his rookie year last season, in which he scored almost 10 points a game in 22 minutes a night. Both of those numbers will rise as his role grows on this team.

High Notes | Low Notes

It would be a mistake to believe this team’s success is built on their scoring prowess. It’s a sleight-of-hand. This is a crew of rapscallion defenders of the highest order. These guys are too young to know how to get away with sloppy D. They are alive, and electric, and Head Coach Scotty Brooks has them convinced that the road to a championship is paved with iron-clad defense.

One potential low note is the psychological effect of becoming a target of everyone in the league for having become the darling of the NBA so quickly. Could this newfound bullseye on their back create enough of a shift in the environment to knock them off their 50 win pace of last season? While it’s possible, I doubt it. Not with Brooks’ coaching and the roster’s up and down hunger for winning after tasting it in the series against Los Angeles.

History

The Jazz went 3-1 vs. the Thunder during their 23 win 2008-2009 season, their first in Oklahoma City. Last year, the Jazz were 1-2 against OKC. This is the sum of the short rivalry between these teams, notwithstanding the days in Seattle, which we’ve buried with a reservoir of tears. RIP Jazz Killer Eddie Johnson, Gary Payton, Shawn “Johnny Appleseed” Kemp, and company.

Coach Notes

For his efforts leading the Thunder turnaround, Scott Brooks was named NBA Coach of the Year. His team buys into his coaching philosophy, which Jazz fans can appreciate. He’s short. He played 10 years in the NBA. He won a championship with the 1994 Houston Rockets. His players like him. That’s all I’ve got here, folks.

Outlook

He makes it look so easy.

The OKC franchise has built this team largely through the draft, which gives them a sense of pride at home-growing this group of youngsters. Clay Bennett and his ownership group had cap space to chase a big dollar free agent, but these guys want to do this on their own terms, and who can blame them, with the young talent they’ve acquired? In the most unnoticed move of the summer, Durant signed a 5 year max contract extension with a nonchalant whisper through Twitter, in stark contrast to LeBron’s “Decision”. In fact, Durant’s favorite motto: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” You get the sense from the way he goes about his business that he believes it. It makes it easy to root for him and this team.

The Jazz matchups with OKC will be among the most kinetic games of the season. For you basketball purists, this matchup will showcase the orchestral beauty of this game–offensively and defensively–in full regale. In short, these games will be pretty to watch. Utah catches OKC at its freshest as two of the team’s first 11 games are against the Thunder. The next two games come in early February and late March. The latter will be a nice test of how the Jazz can handle a stifling defense and manic offensive movement down the stretch.

If I were the Jazz, I’d want to catch these guys sooner than later in the playoffs too, before the OKC kids get in over their heads and not realizing it, play out of their heads to the dismay of whoever stands in their way. Don’t give them more credit than they’ve earned quite yet, but they stand toe to toe with the Jazz lineup in the “who’s second best in the west behind LA” category. To the victor go the spoils.

]]>Today, David Locke has reported that the Utah Jazz have cut Sundiata Gaines, Othyus Jeffers, Demetris Nichols and Ryan Thompson from their preseason roster, leaving 13 players with the team for the opening of the regular season next week. This means that Jeremy Evans has made the cut. What are your thoughts, Salt City land?

]]>In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

Overview

Welcome to the Derrick Rose show, which now boasts a cast of supporting characters that will make the Bulls one of the toughest teams in the league this year. The Bulls were 41-41 last year, and nabbed the eighth seed in the playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round—their second first round exit in as many years. Sure, the Bulls lost veterans Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller, but after adding Jazz-Lite (Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Ronnie Brewer), these Chicago Dawgs are ready to nip at the heels of Orlando, Boston and Miami in the East. Expect Chicago to contend for the fourth or fifth seed in the East this season.

Key Matchups

D-Will vs. D-Rose

Williams and Rose will be a marquee matchup. To be sure, Rose loves the fast break and he has the edge as a pure scoring threat. D-Will, though, distributes the ball better than Rose—which difference may be more systemic than talent-based. Ultimately, if Williams implements Coach Sloan’s plan for him to improve the use his size on smaller defenders in the paint, he will be virtually unstoppable with his offensive repertoire, even for Rose.

Big Al vs. Noah & Boozer

Joakim Noah is one of my favorite players in the league. He moves to the symphony inside his own head, and delights NBA fans with his impassioned play and ever-improving game. Expect another statistical crescendo from Noah this year, in scoring and rebounding, especially now that he can team up with Boozer in the post. With outside shooting strengthened, Chicago will finally be able to spread defenses and prevent the double teams that have hindered them under the basket the past few years.

Millsap vs. Deng

Mentor to Deng: The Late, Great Manute Bol

Deng has been a steady performer in the league for 6 years now—averaging 15.8 points and 6.5 boards for his career. Nevertheless, he has probably not met expectations for his progress as a player. Could he finally demonstrate his latent star power that he has not quite tapped yet? Probably not more than he has. He’s a strong, steady performer, though and will provide a solid matchup with Millsap. Favorite fact: Deng’s basketball mentor? The late, great Manute Bol, fellow Dinka tribesman, who taught Deng how to play in Egypt after his father brought the family from Sudan to avoid their civil war.

High Notes | Low Notes

The Bulls will be a high-scoring, fast break team on offense and tough as nails on defense. Head coach Tom Thibodeau will want to take the bit out of Rose’s mouth, and let him run on Utah. With outside shooting help, Korver and Brewer will help spread the floor and relieve some of the pressure on Rose–which will boost his own numbers. This year, though, as the Jazz have added some athleticism and tougher defense, the team will be able to contend well in transition defense with the Bulls.

Carlos Boozer will miss the first month of the season due to a broken finger he sustained in a hotel room fall. (He was probably reenacting scenes from his own defensive playoff performance for the Jazz.) His early season absence won’t influence the matchup with Utah, as the two teams square off in February and March, long after Boozer’s return to the lineup.

With Boozer, Deng, and Noah, and backups Taj Gibson and James Johnson, the Bulls are long and strong in the front court. One on one, Jefferson can’t be contained by any of them, with his strength in the block and his scoring ability facing the basket. But the Bulls may have more front court depth, especially if Memo is not at full speed by the time these teams play. Consequently, the low post matchup is a draw.

History

Just a little history with the Jazz.

Reviewing the history between Chicago and Utah is like rummaging through a box of love letters from your biggest heartbreak. What good does it do to relive the pain? The Jazz climbed the NBA Finals mountain twice, in 1997 and 1998, only to be shoved back down the slope both times by MJ, Pippen and their cronies. The consolation prize of being immortalized in replays of Michael Jordan’s “Ten Best” moments is cold comfort. Whether “The Flu” game, or “The Push Off”, as we in Utah call it, the wounds run deep. That said, I don’t sense an outright hatred for the Bulls in Jazzland. The teams don’t play often enough for that, and when they locked horns in those epic Finals series’, the end feeling was moreso one of being awed as witnesses to MJ’s histrionics rather than filled with boiling anger like, say, many Jazz fans feel towards the Lakers. With so much Utah firepower loaded in the Windy City for the upcoming season, surely these games will be of high interest to Jazz fans.

Coach Notes

Some things never change. (Photo: Brett Ballantini)

Coach Sloan got his head coaching start with the Bulls, but first built his reputation as a gritty defender with them as a player, where he broke that nose enough times to give Jeremy Evans and his artistic talent something compelling to work with when sketching his new boss. On Chicago’s side, Tom Thibodeau brings his renowned defensive mindset from the Celtics (where he was Doc Rivers’ assistant and helped Boston become the best defensive team in the league during their 2008 title run) to his debut as an NBA head coach in the Windy City. Surely as a result, the Bulls will be among the league’s best defenses. Stories are already emerging from Bulls practices that “Thibs” will stop at every defensive miscue and rerun it until the players get it right. That said, Thibodeau’s offensive plans should not be underestimated. It should be fun to watch his team throughout the season, as he is widely regarded as one of the bright young coaching minds in the game.

Outlook

This season, Derrick Rose will become more acclaimed as one of the best point guards (and one of the best players) in the league. The first Chicago All-Star since Michael Jordan in 1998, Rose is no longer flying under the radar. But Jerry Reinsdorf’s additions of Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Carlos Boozer will give Rose and his talented core of returning veterans the help they need to establish the Bulls as one of the toughest teams in the East. They are not yet to be grouped with Boston or Orlando (don’t get me started on Miami), but they will contend with Milwaukee for the fourth or fifth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Utah’s two regular season tilts with Chicago will provide the Jazz an opportunity to show, just before and just after the All-Star break, that the Jazz can compete down the stretch with one of the league’s toughest defenses and most explosive offenses.